John Sciarra

Hamlet Nalbandyan As the seconds ticked away to Friday night's football contest between Crescenta Valley and St. Francis highs, the crowd on CV's sideline started a chant, as it celebrated its team's 24-14 victory over intracity rival St. Francis. "Overrated," the nearly packed house at Moyse Field was saying in unison, over and over again, referring to all the hype and press the Golden Knights had been receiving. Well, they couldn't have been more wrong.

Hamlet Nalbandyan FRIEDMAN FIELD -- Pressure is nothing new for St. Francis High quarterback John Sciarra. Greatness has been expected from the 17-year-old ever since he first threw a pigskin, since his father, John, was a standout UCLA quarterback who enjoyed a successful NFL career. So the expectations for this year's St. Francis squad will not be too overwhelming for the senior signal-caller, who has already given a verbal commitment to UCLA.

Hamlet Nalbandyan It's that time again. The barrage of summer youth sports has ended, and even though the local Little League baseball and softball teams were fun to watch, it's time to move on to bigger and better things. The fall high school sports season brings forth much excitement and anticipation, especially in sports such as boys' water polo and girls' volleyball, where it seems a local school is among the CIF's best year in and year out. But as intriguing as those sports are, nothing quite compares to football.

Hamlet Nalbandyan GLENDALE -- The speculations were always there, and St. Francis High quarterback John Sciarra finally made it official Thursday. Sciarra has verbally committed to play football for UCLA, the same school that his father, John, and current coach Jim Bonds played for. Bonds played for the Bruins from 1988 to 1991. Sciarra's father starred at UCLA through 1972-1976. He led the Bruins to the 1976 Rose Bowl victory. Both were quarterbacks.

Chuck Benedict If you live in the La Canada-Flintridge area, your fellow residents include John Sciarra and John Sciarra. Two of them? Right. You can't tell them apart by their sports assignments. Each is listed as a quarterback. When this father and son are together, there is much to be said about football -- past, present and future. John Sciarra, upcoming senior QB on the St. Francis High School varsity, is a third namesake. First, there was patriarch John Joseph Sciarra.

Alex Leon James Bonds Jr. has the right idea. He keeps his mini-football close to him so that when his dad comes home, the seven-year-old can show off his arm. And his footwork and his ability to read a defense. New St. Francis High football coach Jim Bonds would expect nothing less of his son, or anyone else auditioning for him to play quarterback. The decision of whether father will coach son in football is still a few years down the line, which is a good thing for both the senior and junior Bonds.

Peter Fuertes GLENDALE -- There isn't one concrete point during the 1999 season when you could have pointed to the maturity of St. Francis High quarterback John Sciarra. It could have come as early as the second week of the season, when the junior threw for 260 yards and led the Golden Knights to a 25-13 victory over cross-town rival Crescenta Valley High. Some might argue it came when he drove St. Francis to a come-from-behind victory over Harvard-Westlake High, 22-19.

Jim Riggio ST. FRANCIS HIGH -- Ever since John Sciarra entered St. Francis High, he has had a label attached to him. Being the son of a former UCLA quarterback, Rose Bowl MVP and pro football player with the same first and surname, Sciarra's name certainly stands out to high school football fans looking to find and make predictions about the next great quarterback discovery. But Sciarra has pushed aside any distractions or comparisons that may have gotten in his way and he has used his father's guidance as advantage.